Xavier College was opened by the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) in 1878.;xNLx;‘To find God in all things’ was the aim of St Ignatius Loyola and his Jesuit companions, including St. Francis Xavier, who first formed a community at the University of Paris early in the 16th century. ;xNLx;Jesuit education encourages the individual to develop fully his or her talents and fosters reflection, so that the person’s heart, mind, body and spirit may become deeply engaged to serve in the wider world.;xNLx;The traditions of a world-class education, begun by the Jesuits at Xavier, strongly influence our teachings today, so that our students may become ‘men and women for others’.;xNLx;Scroll through our time-line using the slider at the bottom of the screen or sit back and watch time pass. Click on a story for more information, or to see the image in a larger format. You may change your view from 2D to 3D and back again.
We respectfully acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which we stand, the elders of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation, past and present.
'The discovery of the Victorian Goldfields has converted a remote dependency into a country of worldwide fame;
An Act to incorporate and endow the University of Melbourne.
The Act ‘XVI. Out of the Monies disposable by the said Legislative Council there shall and may be appropriated…being One hundred and thirty thousand pounds for Public Schools and Ten thousand pounds towards building an University Melbourne.’
Bishop Goold appointed Dr. Laurence Shiel as President and Mr. Whyte as the Headmaster.
The Irish Jesuits were invited to Melbourne by Bishop Goold, to run the diocesan school of St. Patrick’s College, East Melbourne.
The Superior of the Jesuit Mission arrived in Melbourne in 1866.
Fathers Joseph Dalton, Francis Murphy and Edward Nolan SJ purchased land from Patrick Mornane in the rural area of Kew, some seventy acres bordered by Barkers Road, from Denmark Street to Glenferrie Road for £7000.00. This was to be the foundation of the Jesuit’s new boarding school.
The foundation stone of Xavier College was laid with the celebration of an open air Mass.
1st Rector (1st Head). Father Cahill arrived in Melbourne in January 1872 from Macao, where he had been teaching English in the Portuguese Jesuit seminary.
